


A Court of Dreams

by The_Highlands_Lady



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alliance Bashing, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Drama, Emperor Anakin Skywalker, Empress Padmé Amidala, F/M, Family, Gen, Good Empire, Good Imperials, Hurt/Comfort, Imperial prince luke, M/M, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, bad alliance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26891422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Highlands_Lady/pseuds/The_Highlands_Lady
Summary: Finding himself caught in the Executor's tractor beam was not in Luke's plans, neither was getting caught by the Empire... but he didn't know what else was coming. Finding out his relation to the ruling couple of the Empire certainly wasn't in his plans for that day, neither was finding out that the Alliance was very much looked down upon by the Imperials.Luke finds himself basically thrust into a world of politics, made to swim in an environment that he doesn't understand... but with the aid of the support system around him and his newly-discovered parents, things will definitely unfold... but only time can tell what will happen to the Empire under the Imperial Family.
Relationships: CC-1010 | Fox/Sabé, CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi, CC-6454 | Ponds/Mace Windu, CT-7567 | Rex & Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader | Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker & Padme Amidala - Relationship, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Plo Koon & CC-3636 | Wolffe
Comments: 18
Kudos: 96





	A Court of Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! I hope you give this a shot, considering it's an experimental fic, but I hope you enjoy it either way! The start is credited to Chapter 8 of Sparklight’s wonderful work, “Where Our Intrepid Hero Doesn’t Get Away”. 
> 
> Which is also a wonderful read, and I think you should definitely look at if you haven't already.
> 
> As always, you can find me on tumblr at @rileys-nest and twitter at @highlands_lady if you want to talk more!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“I see them, I see them!” Luke yelled, swinging his X-Wing in a sharp turn to follow the curve of Hoth away from where the giant looming shadow of the _Executor_ darkened the snow-covered landscape. Artoo shrieked something, and he risked a quick glance at the translation screen. He’d thought the fleet had left after the last transports were away to attempt to chase the slower transports… but apparently he was wrong. Wrong in the knowledge and assumption of this plan, going into it, would result in him escaping the Empire

‘ **ARE YOUR PROCESSORS BUGGED?** ’

“Hey now! Don’t insult my mental capacity here, R2!”

‘ **I WOULDN’T HAVE TO IF YOU WOULD WATCH THE SCANNERS!** ’

Luke choked at R2’s quickly-beeped response, grumbling as he turned back to direct the X-wing away from another TIE Fighter coming his way, unleashing a quick blast of laser fire that shredded the TIE into dust.

“How long until we can jump, Artoo?” He asked during a corkscrew to avoid a hail of lasers coming from an unusual shaped straighter, not the TIEs he was used to seeing… but rather something that looked strangely like an X-Wing.

The answer was anything but positive, prompting Luke to let out a string of curses that got Artoo screaming in a scolding tone as he dodged around two more new fighters, turning another TIE into dust with a blast of laser fire. He noted out of the corner of his vision, a curved-wing TIE advanced dropping into his space, and groaned wordlessly.

“I have a bad feeling about this…” Yanking on his controls to avoid another wave of laser fire from the TIEs and unusually-shaped fighters, he pulled down into a dive then up again. He banked a hard right, shooting a TIE into dust and attempting to make another right turn; a sharp Force warning stopping him as the TIE Advanced screamed past him, cutting off his intended path.

“OH…” Luke scowled, muttering curses under his breath as he made another attempt towards an opening between two TIE fighters; however, he had to pull away from at the last minute when the TIE Advanced and two of the clunky-looking X-Wing fighters cut his path off.

It seemed that every time he tried to head in a new direction, the TIE Advanced and fighters seemed to be there to block his path. As he tried to find an escape route, the navicomputer dinged at the last moment and Luke pulled the lever that would’ve taken him into light speed… but right before it should’ve happened, the ship shuddered, screamed, and strained against an invisible force.

“What..?” Luke peered out the cockpit because this wasn’t what he had expected, and he groaned, feeling his stomach fall out of the bottom.

The _Executor_ loomed in front of the cockpit; he hadn’t even noticed that he was being herded the entire time… and Luke realized that once he was firmly caught in the tractor beam while he shut down the engines, the other TIEs flew back to their own hangers while the TIE advanced and clunky-looking X-Wings flew alongside either side of the caught X-Wing.

The twenty-two-year-old sunk a little lower in his chair with another audible groan, thumping his head into the headrest in quiet protest. He had a sinking feeling that he knew who was in the Advanced, but had no idea who was piloting the other ships now on his right side. Luke grumbled, unbuckling his helmet to drop it onto the floor with another sigh.

Three years of avoidance, near-misses and near-catches… and now this happened? He knew of the almost fifty-thousand credit bounty on his head that made any mission dangerous for him, but he didn’t know why the Destroyer was reeling him in like a fish caught on a line. Was he to be executed? He didn’t know, but he didn’t want to know. He’d rather not find out, thank you very much.

Luke stared through the view screen with a morose sigh, not paying attention to the amount of stormtroopers that filed into the hanger as Vader emerged from the TIE Advanced. The sound of their boots hitting the durasteel floor caught his attention, however. The moment stretched on until Vader made a sharp gesture with one hand towards the cockpit, immediately popping it open. Luke jerked in surprise, scowling down at the assembled Imperials.

“Either come down willingly or I pull you out, Skywalker.” One of the stormtroopers with blue markings on his armor couldn’t help but snigger at those words as Luke grimaced at that lovely ultimatum posed. He unstrapped himself reluctantly, and climbed down slowly from the X-Wing with the aid of a ladder pushed over by a tech.

His whole body ached, he could still feel the bone-piercing coldness during the night out in Hoth’s vicious weather, but he hadn’t said anything. The base was under attack, and they needed all pilots available. As soon as his boots met polished durasteel, and he turned around slowly, he heard a quiet snap and quick tug at his belt.

“Hey!” Luke made an attempted grab at the lightsaber just before it flew out of reach and landed neatly in Vader’s gloved hand. “Give that _back_.” It was a ridiculous demand to make, but in his mind, all he wanted was to have a weapon in case things started going south.

“Are you going to cooperate or should I have you stunned?” Vader’s baritone asked, breaking the stretching silence. Luke huffed, crossing his arms as he shifted from foot to foot.

“Are you going to hurt Artoo?” He swore that the Dark Lord seemed startled as he stared down at Luke, then up to the droid still nestled in the astromech socket. Artoo let out a defiant whistle as all attention fell on him. Some of the other stormtroopers wearing colored armor snickered, exchanging elbows with each other behind Vader’s back as the Emperor took a breath.

“He will… be left alone if he behaves.” Artoo let out another mocking trill of defiance, making more stormtroopers burst out snickering. Luke had no idea what they found so funny, but he knew he had no other possible options to postpone the escort.

“I’m coming.” Vader hummed in approval, fastening a tight grip on Luke’s shoulder to guide him out of the hanger and into a large hallway. Two of the troopers fell into pace at their back, the blue-clad trooper and a grey-clad trooper keeping up with the pace set by Vader.

The path in question didn’t end in the detention area, but rather into the white-walled large room that was labeled **Medbay**. Crossing the doorframe, Vader released Luke’s shoulder as he swept into an open office.

“Watch him.” Vader threw over his shoulder sharply to the troopers flanking Luke as he headed into the office space, “If he moves a step from that spot, bind or stun him.”

“Yes sir.” Luke gave the black-suited figure a bewildered stare, shifting from side to side slowly with a quiet sigh. He looked around the medbay, before turning his attention back to the office as two more men exited, being followed by an tall, dirty-blond haired man wearing an elegantly-designed black-as-the-void suit making their way towards where Luke and the troopers stood.

Luke stared at the man in sharp disbelief, meeting ice-blue with ice-blue and dirty-blond matching dirty-blond. Was that… Vader? He didn’t realize he had voiced his question until the man was chuckling softly.

“Emperor Anakin when out of the suit; Emperor Vader when in the suit… and you’re the infamous Rebel Commander, Luke, right?”

“General, don’t tease him. You’re the one who put the bounty on his head after all.” One of the medics scolded the Emperor lightly from where he stood at a large scanner, checking everything to make sure it was ready for their patient.

“Ah yes… If the Empress was here, she’d be making me apologize at the risk of sleeping on the couch… but as she isn’t, I’m not apologizing.” Anakin responded as he stepped closer to Luke, fingers slipping under his chin to coax the younger to meet his intense expression.

“What do you want with me?” Luke demanded, wanting to swipe the hand holding his head steady but being restrained just as quickly as the thought crossed his mind by the blue-clad trooper behind him.

“What do you know of your parents?”

“I know they died…” Anakin blinked slowly at Luke’s harshly-spat response,

“What would your reaction be if I told you they were alive and well? And that you’re facing one of them right now?” Luke’s eyes blazed as he swatted the Emperor’s hand away from his head, teeth gritting with a low protesting sound coming from his throat.

“I would call you a liar… a liar who is stirring up memories of a family I never knew!” His tone rose even sharper, making the troopers and medics take hesitant steps backwards as Anakin clearly seemed to struggle to manage his temper.

Anakin exhaled sharply, wrapping a tight grip around Luke’s right wrist and turning the other’s hand to face palm-up. “Then, let me prove it to you. Kix?”

At the call of his name, the medic made his way over with a tester; pricking first Luke’s outstretched finger then Anakin’s and running the analysis software. Luke tried to pull his hand out of the tight grasp, before stopping as the screen showing the results was turned into his line of vision.

“You saw the test being run, there should be no reason for you to doubt the validation of this test.” Kix’s voice was stern, gaze fixed on Luke. The youngest present stared at the results in shock and surprise, reaching out a hand hesitantly to touch the screen displaying the results.

“You… they’re alive?” Luke’s voice was full of emotion, a pleading gaze turning to Kix. The medic couldn’t help but smile briefly,

“They’re more than alive, Luke… and you’re…” he exhaled slightly with a quiet sigh, “you’re the Crown Prince of the Empire.”

Anakin couldn’t help but chuckle at Luke’s wide-eyed expression of shock and surprise.

“Indeed… and I would like to say, thank you, Kix.”

“My pleasure, sir.” Luke turned to stare up at Anakin in shock and surprise, getting a mischievous grin in response.

“My wife will be elated to meet you finally, the Imperial Family finally reunited… but now, I will leave you in the care of Kix and Helix. Wolffe, Rex, with me.” Luke blinked in surprise at the sudden change of mood in the room, turning slightly to stare after his father’s departing back.

“Wha-?!” He protested the sudden departure, getting Anakin to pause briefly at the doorway. He knew the best way to pacify his newly-found son into behaving for the medical check.

“Once you’re checked over, you can come join me on the bridge. Take care of him.” Kix nodded at the orders received, setting the testing scanner down on a table and gesturing towards the previously set-up full-size scanner.

Everything seemed to be going full-steam ahead, leaving Luke bewildered as all get out as he watched the medics get prepped for his check.

‘ _First I get captured by the Empire while trying to escape from Hoth, then I’m_ ** _not_** _taken to the detention cells for interrogation… but rather taken to the medbay? Without bindings. Meeting the new Emperor Skywalker, getting told that my parents are still alive and that I’m the_ ** _Crown Prince_** _of the Empire? What next? Ben still being alive? I don’t know how much more I can take…’_

He was disturbed from the train of thoughts at a sudden bundle of fabric being thrown at his chest, barely catching it and looking at the medics with a WTF expression. Kix returned it squarely with an eyebrow lifted briefly.

“The scanner can’t handle thicker fabrics like your flight suit, so change into that please.” Luke grumbled, but stepped behind a curtain to change into the previously-thrown patient clothing; once changed, he returned to the two medics with his filthy orange flight suit. Kix looked down at his feet, noting the boots he still wore and pointed with a stylus at the covered feet.

“Boots too. I swear, you’re as bad as your father.” He grumbled, turning to check the scanner one more time to make sure it was set for a full scan.

“Wha-why?”

“Because it’s a **full** scan, which means feet too. Boots throw off the results, same as the flight suit.”

Kix might’ve had another unspoken reason as to why he was asking Luke to remove his boots… it was protocol for Jedi under clone medical care to remove their boots to prevent any potential escape attempts, but Luke didn’t need to know that quite yet. His father was one of the worst people to get to stay in the medbay, and he didn’t want to risk the newly-recovered Crown Prince attempting an escape attempt either.

“I… got one of your names, I don’t think I got the other?” Luke ventured hesitantly as he hoisted himself up onto the gurney that would pass through the scanner.

Kix pointed at himself with a thumb, then shifted over to the other medic, grinning slightly. “I’m Kix, that’s Coric. We’re the Chief Medical Officers of the _Executor_. We served under your father during the Clone Wars as well.”

Luke couldn’t resist giving Coric a hesitant smile in return to getting his name, Kix stepping around the scanner to nudge the younger down to lay flat on the gurney.

“You’re gonna have to stay extremely still for the full scan… unless you’ve had one done recently seeing that you were actively involved in aerial combat.”

Luke’s red-tinted cheeks and quick-glance away from the medics gave away his answer and Kix groaned.

“Of kriffing course. The rebels don’t know how to handle new pilots… well, we’re here to correct that. Any questions before we begin?” Between Kix’s grumbles as he got Luke settled, Coric couldn’t resist chuckling, checking the scanner settings once more.

“No, sir.” Luke shifted slightly on the gurney, getting comfortable before he stared up at the ceiling with a deep exhale.

“Good kid. Stay still, don’t forget to breathe.”

The scanner did its thing, letting Luke soon sit up as he was through it with a grumble of dislike. Kix was looking over the scan results, expression darkening slowly with every new thing that was detected.

“Seriously… did the Rebels **not** handle medical care for their pilots?” He grumbled, stabbing harshly at the screen to get to the in-detail images.

“Coric, tell me you’ve got his medical file.” Luke knew something was wrong, and as he straightened himself up from the gurney, he peered around the scanner at the two medics whispering aggressively at each other.

“What’s going on?” Kix’s hazel eyes blazed under the bright light that filled the medbay as he spun to face Luke’s questioning expression.

“Your… **Alliance** has neglected your medical care! I see remnants of hypothermia, half-healed fractures, even dehydration, and that’s just from one picture!” The medic grumbled, stalking over to a set of drawers to rummage through and pull out the basic IV kit before returning to where Luke sat on the edge of the gurney.

The young adult glanced away as the underside of his wrist was rubbed down before the sharp pinprick of the IV needle was felt. While Kix was getting the IV setup to combat his minor case of dehydration, Coric was checking over the scan results more closely and comparing it to the very small files they had gained access to.

“I want to see how your body handles the warm saline, see if the remnants of hypothermia finally decide to fade away and the dehydration goes away as well.”

At those words, Luke realized he was in for a stay of at least an hour if not more, and sighed; settling down on the bed to let the medics do what they needed to do and hopefully let the IV do its work.

<—>

Two hours or so later, Luke didn’t really know due to there being a lack of time-tracking items in the medbay, he felt the IV being removed from his arm and opened his eyes. He had taken full advantage of the time to doze off, blinking to clear the sleep-fog and slowly sitting up. Coric was grinning at him, a mischievous light in his eyes.

“Someone was sleeping pretty deeply…”

“I dozed off!” Luke protested to the medic’s teasing tone, huffing lightly.

“Mmh, sure you did. Your heart rate said differently, Your Highness… but good news, you’re good enough to be released. I got some clean clothes for you to change into, then I’ll take you up to the bridge finally.” Coric couldn’t help himself, almost dropping a bundle of extremely dark-blue clothing into Luke’s lap, shooing him off the bed and into a changing room.

Luke huffed at Coric’s use of his new title and the snark as he entered the changing area; stripping out of the patient clothing and reaching for the folded pile of darker clothes. A dark bluesilk polo-style shirt went on first, followed by the neatly ironed slacks of the same color and shade of blue, then shiny black-leather boots that seemed to fit to his feet perfectly and finally a one-shouldered cape that hung over his left shoulder. The cape was secured by a silver chain wrapping under his other arm and coming up to keep the cape in place. He stared at himself in the mirror, disbelieving of what was looking back at him.

No longer a rebel pilot struggling against the might of the Empire, he now looked to be the Heir to the Empire, a Crown Prince. The dark blue of the outfit made his dark-blond hair and ice-blue eyes stand out as he stared at the mirror.

A total stranger stared back at Luke, but with a calming breath, he gathered up the patient clothing and exited the changing room. In the medbay, Kix, Coric, and the grey-clad trooper, Wolffe he remembered, stood in the center of the large room. All were engaged in quiet conversation, laughter barely breaking their chatter as Luke made his way closer to the trio.

“Looking more like a Prince now, Your Highness.” Kix’s blunt tone made Wolffe and Coric start laughing as Luke grinned slightly.

“I will admit that I feel less out-of-place… but, didn’t the Emperor say I could meet him up on the bridge?” Wolffe nodded, crossing his arms slightly as he straightened his posture.

“He did indeed. In fact, that’s what I came down to escort you for. Your father wants you to meet the Admiral and military Commander and get a brief rundown on what’s going to happen.” Luke’s blue eyes brightened slightly at Wolffe’s words as he smiled.

“Then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

Wolffe gestured towards the door with a slight bow,

“After you, Your Highness.” Luke rolled his eyes with a grunt at the title, moving towards the open doors.

“It’s just Luke, none of this… ‘Your Highness’ rubbish.”

“Ask your father if that’s permissible, Your Highness.” Wolffe remarked as he walked at Luke’s side quietly, leading the Prince up through the winding hallways of the _Executor_.

Kix and Coric watched as the pair departed, the more senior of the medics shaking his head slightly.

“He should do alright… but I wonder how badly Anakin will react to Luke’s medical files?” Coric raised an eyebrow at his fellow medic,

“Do you really have to ask? I bet the mechanics are going to be kept busy when we get back to Coruscant.”

“Mmh, true.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is quite an unusual experiment for me, so I'm definitely taking a risk here... but I hope you all enjoyed what you read, and as always, don't forget to leave a kudos or comment! Every comment and kudos is very much appreciated and helps to feed the muses... they can be very particular! 
> 
> Anyways, if you want to be alerted about when I update works/publish new ones, you can subscribe to individual works or my profile as a whole! I always try and keep updates coming... well, when the muses decide to cooperate.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed and I hope to see you all next chapter!


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